Do-It-Yourself Chicken Nuggets

If you have any picky eaters in the family, chicken is probably a common occurrence in your house. Take a break from the normal, store bought nuggets with these homemade, pretzel coated ones. Having control over the ingredients is always much better for you too, so you can feel better about feeding these nuggets to your family.

A few weeks ago I was visiting Allison and we decided to do some PinterTesting for dinner one night. I’ll admit it… I’m SUPER picky (Allison’s note: that is the understatement of the year) and after looking through pages off recipes on Pinterest, we finally decided on this one because we both agreed on in and had all the ingredients. They turned out pretty ok, too!

While the crumbs are cooling, grab your pretzels to crush. Pulse them in the food processor until coarsely ground. No food processor? No problem… Just put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or even a frying pan. Just be careful not to break the bag! Combine them with the cooled panko crumbs.

Pull your chicken out of the refrigerator and cut it up into 1 1/2 to 2 inch cubes. Season with a little salt and pepper. If you don’t feel like making nuggets, you could make chicken strips instead. Just make sure to adjust the baking time as needed.

Yes, Allison and I have matching pants on… We’re those kind of sisters. They we on sale at Old Navy and SUPER comfy, what do you expect from us? The kitchen has no dress code!

It’s time to set up your dredging station. Grab some wide, shallow containers to put the different ingredients into. Put flour in one, beat your eggs with 2 Tablespoons of water in another, and about half the pretzel and crumbs mixture into the last one. Add more pretzel and crumb mixture and flour to the bowls later, as needed. Grease a baking sheet to place your chicken nuggets on once coated.

Piece by piece, coat the chicken. First dredge it in the flour. Then in the egg. Let the excess egg drip off before coating the pieces in the pretzel and crumb mixture.

Once all the pieces are coated, stick the pan in the oven and bake for 12-18 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through.

My only complaint was that they were a little on the dry side and needed a dipping sauce, like the Copycat Recipe: Chili’s Honey Mustard Dressing Allison recently posted. Try them out yourself and let us know how they turn out for you!

In a large skillet, toast the bread crumbs over medium heat until lightly golden. Stir them constantly, so they brown evenly and don't burn.

While the crumbs are cooling, grab your pretzels to crush. Pulse them in the food processor until coarsely ground. Combine them with the cooled panko crumbs.

Pull your chicken out of the refrigerator and cut it up into 1½ to 2 inch cubes. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Set up a dedging station by putting the flour, beaten eggs (with 2 Tablespoons of water added), and pretzel/crumb mixture into 3 separate wide,shallow containers to put the different ingredients into. Piece by piece, coat the chicken. First dredge it in the flour. Then in the egg. Let the excess egg drip off before coating the pieces in the pretzel and crumb mixture.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 12-18 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through.